the odd Yellow May and some Pale Watery's. Rising fish were scarce, perhaps it's just me but fish just don't seem to rise like they used to anymore?

Evening fishing has been good with excellent falls of spinners and with the very low water at the moment fishing in the evening offers the best chance of hectic sport and remember to fish until last knockings.

With rain forecast for tomorrow hopefully there will be a welcome lift in the river levels.

mid morning to late afternoon, the two rods I was with had 28 fish to nymphs, dries and spiders. There was a good fall of Black Gnats from late morning to early afternoon and the fish were on them, nice to see after last year when there were hardly any.

Large Brook Duns have continued to hatch in numbers this last week but I have yet to see a Yellow May on the Wharfe although we did spot a solitary one on the Ure on Friday together with an early Blue Winged Olive.

As always this season a period of warm and settled weather is required but there appears to be no sign of that happening just yet.

Bolton Abbey and Ilkley. Large Brook Duns are also hatching in reasonable numbers but as yet I have not personally seen or had a report of any Yellow Mays.

With a hike in temperatures forecast for next week the fishing should be very good indeed, look our for falls of Black Gnats and Hawthorn flies.

introduction to the life of this fascinating mollusc. He asked me to write the Foreword to his book, which I quote below because the context of the Freshwater Mussel FWM (Margaritifera Margaritifera) is perhaps more relevant today than it was then, largely because of increasing public awareness of its ecological importance.

Fred Woodward worked at the Kelvingrove Gallery in Glasgow in a team of distinguished natural historians and biologists. In that capacity he became a member of the European Invertebrates Survey and of the Bern Invertebrates Specialist Group, among other influential roles, including fellowship of the Linnaean Society. I remember Fred talking about the importance of the freshwater mussel and its relationship with juvenile salmonids, especially Atlantic salmon parr. At that time he was drafting the guidelines for the EU's Habitat Directorate, which ultimately led to EU legislation to protect the FWM.

Why are freshwater mussels (FWM) important?

My own interest in Margaritifera Margaritifera stemmed from living on the banks of the River South Esk in Angus, which was famous for the quality of its FWM pearls. In the 1980s it was still legal to collect pearls by opening up the shell of the living mollusc, invariably killing it in the process, and occasionally finding a pearl inside. South Esk FWM pearls were highly sought after, so much so that the late Queen Mother was given a necklace of a selection of the purest irridescent and graded pearls.

Quite often we would find heaps of opened shells beside the river, with dead mussels rotting and stinking in the summer warmth. It was obvious to me, even before I met Fred Woodward, that the plundering of the river's stocks of FWM could not continue if they were not going to become extinct.

Hence, when Fred asked me to write the foreword for his book, this is what I wrote:

"The freshwater mussel is a biological indicator of the health of our rivers. It is also the prized quarry of pearl fishermen, and in Scotland there is a common right to fish for them. There are few such privileges given to the ordinary person, above the rights of the riparian owner, and it is significant, as public access to Scotland's wilderness areas is now a major political issue, that we now know that this practice is no longer sustainable, if the Scottish pearl mussel is to survive.

Traditionally the pearl fisher killed every mussel in the search for the elusive and valuable pearl. It is this, in the context of the longevity and slow growth of Margaritifera Margaritifera, which made it obvious to Scotland's small group of professional pearl fishers that they needed to devise a method which did not involve killing the mussel. This they succeeded in doing by developing tongs which prise open the shell-halves sufficiently to allow inspection and removal of a pearl from the mussel's mantle without harming it. Unfortunately, it was impossible to communicate this method to the much larger number of amateur pearl fishermen, and it therefore became necessary to introduce legislation in 1989 to protect the animal by making it illegal to kill them, or interfere with them in any way.

Fred Woodward is the champion of Margaritifera Margaritifera. His interest in its natural history, its exploitation by man since pre-Roman times, its global context and the politics needed to ensure its survival, are the subject of this book. His main concern is for the mollusc's wellbeing, and yet he manages to introduce an elegaic sympathy for the Scottish group of professional pearl fishers, Bill Abernethy, Peter Goodwin and the McCormack family. It is well worth reading Peter Goodwin's book, 'The River and the Road - Journal of a Freshwater Pearl-Fisher' (Hale 1985 ISBN 0 7090 2341 3) which describes the lives of pearl fishers, an activity which sadly but understandably no longer exists.

The 1992 Rio conference on the global environment highlighted the issue of biodiversity, and it is therefore important that each threatened species has its champions. Fred Woodward's commitment is much more important than championing the cause of a single species however, because his holistic approach has much in common with the Scottish biologist and philosopher, Patrick Geddes, in the way he invites us to think globally and act locally. Margaritifera Margaritifera is more than yet another threatened species or biological indicator; ultimately it is a measure of our commitment to sustaining our environment."

Since 1993 the EU has introduced Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) to protect fragile species such as the FWM. Because of the mollusc's relationship with juvenile salmon, which are hosts to the FWM's larval parasite (Glochidia), it is the relationship between the two species which has become the target of EU conservation efforts. In salmon rivers where the freshwater mussel still exists, SAC status is predicated on the wellbeing of both species in that particular ecosystem - the freshwater catchment.

TA on 6/5/2013

Friday on the Wharfe fish were moving well when we first arrived but were soon put down by a strengthening wind and subsequent sharp drop in temperature.

Reports from further down the river tell finally of good hatches of Grannom and fish responding. Still the air and water temperature and cold wind are the problem, on Friday at Bursall the water temperature was still only fractionally above 10 degrees. Things are getting better but we still have some way to go before the fish start to respond normally, until it's warmer and we get rid of the cold wind things are only gradually going to improve.

Don't forget next Sunday it's the "Wharfedale Fly Fishing Day" on the village green at Burnsall, I hope to see you there.

warmer less windy days we have had. Only this week the water temperature has just crept to a fraction over 10 degrees still way below what it should be at this time of year. My colleague Dave Martin has seen reasonable numbers of fish responding to Olives on the River Wharfe at Ilkley on the more clement days.

Despite the cold fly hatches have been excellent with good numbers of Large Dark and Medium Olives and the odd Stonefly. I saw two Grannom on the Nidd on Tuesday and have had a report of Grannom starting to emerge this week on the Wharfe in the Huby area, the Grannom this year are a good two weeks behind their usual hatching time.

For prospects to improve we require a much needed spell of warmer and more settled weather and once that happens I predict sport will be excellent, the fish have alot of catching up to do!

quickly although more heavy rain is forecast for Wednesday night.

Certainly the fishing prospects are looking much better with temperatures this week more the norm for mid April and the combination of decent water and warmer weather should finally get the fish feeding again, strong winds again though will be a hassle. In the main Large Dark Olive hatches have been good and from now on keep an eye out for Grannom where present, I've not seen one as yet but my guess is that they will start hatching this week.